PRESS RELEASE | Negligence of Israeli soldiers exposes Palestinian children at risk on the way to school

Negligence of the Israeli soldiers exposes Palestinian children at risk on the way to school,
South Hebron Hills

At-Tuwani – December 26, Today the Israeli military escort left thirteen Palestinian children of Tuba and Magayir Al-Abeed alone along the way to school near the Israeli outpost of Havat Ma’on. This path is dangerous because the children were repeatedly attacked by the settler of the outpost. The army was over an hour late on the way to school and on the way back didn’t arrive at all, without explanation. After two hours of waiting between At-Tuwani and Havat Ma’on, some international accompanied the children at home through a longer way (more than one hour instead of 20 minutes) in which the children were however often attacked by settlers.

This military escort was established in November 2004 by “Children Rights Committee of the Knesset”, to protect the children from the several attacks that they have suffered since 2001 by settlers of Havat Ma’on on the route to the school. To avoid the attacks, the children were using a path one hour and half long.

In the last month the escort has rarely fulfilled its duty. The soldiers never completed the path; they walked with the children on the way, as required by the decisions of the Knesset, in only 30% of the cases; furthermore, the children had to wait the escort for over 8 hours in total. This compromises their safety and their fundamental right to education.

For further information on the military escort in the past years, the report “The Dangerous Road to Education. Palestinian Students Suffer Under Settler Violence and Military Negligence” is available at: http://goo.gl/CXfi9

Operation Dove has maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron Hills since 2004.

[Note: According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Regulations, the International Court of Justice, and several United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements and outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts, including Havat Ma’on (Hill 833), are considered illegal also under Israeli law.]